Al-Baghawī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Jacob told them as they were preparing to leave him, “O my sons, do not enter through one gate, but enter through different gates.” He said this because he feared the evil eye for them, for they had been endowed with beauty, strength, and tall stature, and were all the sons of one man. He therefore instructed them to separate when entering, lest they be afflicted by the evil eye. The evil eye is real, and it is related in a report: “The evil eye sends a man to the grave and a camel to the cooking pot.” It is also reported that Ibrāhīm al-Nakha‘ī said that Jacob gave this instruction because he hoped that, by dispersing, they would see Joseph. The former view is more sound. End quote from his commentary on these verses.

Al-Qurtubī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “When they resolved to leave, he feared the evil eye for them, so he instructed them not to enter Egypt through a single gate. Egypt had four gates. He feared the evil eye because they were eleven men, all the sons of one man, and were endowed with beauty, excellence, and imposing stature. This was stated by Ibn Abbās, al-Dahhāk, Qatāda, and others.

“If this is the meaning of the verse, it provides evidence for taking precautions against the evil eye. The evil eye is real. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘The evil eye can indeed send a man to the grave and a camel to the cooking pot.’ His invocation seeking refuge—‘I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from every devil, every venomous creature, and every harmful eye’—also demonstrates this.

“Al-Asma‘ī said: ‘I saw a man with a potent evil eye. He heard a cow being milked and was impressed by its stream of milk. He asked, “Which cow is that?” They named another cow, intending by this equivocation to divert his attention from the first. Both cows died: the one they named and the one they sought to conceal.’ Al-Asma‘ī added: ‘I heard him say, “Whenever I see something that impresses me, I feel heat issuing from my eye.”’” End quote. (1)

Al-Hāfiz Ibn Kathīr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Allah Most High relates that Jacob (peace be upon him), when he sent his sons off to Egypt with their brother Benjamin, instructed them not to enter all together through a single gate,